Resident Evil 5 Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Resident Evil 5's opening chapter begins innocuously enough. You won't be able to draw weapons or go through your inventory (not that you have anything in which to use yet), but you will be able to walk around the village you find yourself in. Take this brief time before RE5's combat starts to get used to the controls. Do you need to invert your view? Have you toggled through the four types of controls to see what's most comfortable for you? When you're satisfied, head towards the butcher shop on the far end of the village, going through the side door to continue.

Within, you'll find a gentleman to speak with. After the cutscene, you'll see a glowing silver briefcase on the table in front of you. Open to collect your first weapon in the game -- both Chris and Sheva should now be equipped with an M92F pistol, a basic handgun that will serve you well throughout the game (just be sure to upgrade it adequately!) Once both characters are equipped with a weapon, you can proceed out of the butcher shop -- just be sure to grab the gold within the crate inside the structure. You can also read some documents before heading out towards the ramp sloping downward, as well.

As you proceed down this ramp, you'll see a butchered farm animal on the ground. Upon inspection, you'll notice the body is still warm. Proceeding forward and rightward will lead to a dead end, so instead, go rightward into the building next to the slain animal. Within, you won't yet find zombie foes to do battle with, but you will find more items to add to your fledgling inventory. You should be able to find two Green Herbs within, for instance. As always with herbs, it's best to combine them to add to their potency. Two Green Herbs are a great mix. For future reference, mixing a Red Herb with a Green Herb is a great mix, as well. Once you leave this building, approach the red door of the next building. You'll hear screams coming from within. Your first fight is just around the corner.

When you enter this house, you'll find an innocent man being held by his zombified brethren, where he's turned into one of them in short order. While the others scamper off hereafter, this new zombie will be your first confrontation in the game. Chances are he'll run at you and grab you before you can react, so shake the left analog stick wildly to get him off without receiving any damage. Then, fell him. Move into the adjacent room, where some ammunition can be garnered on one of the shelves. Bust through the window to get back outside. When you start traversing the alleyways, you'll be assailed by a group of zombies. Don't try to fight them -- instead, run to a nearby house, where the two newfound partners will lock themselves in. (Keep in mind that you can return here later and actually fight this entire group of seemingly-endless enemies. The last one killed will drop a valuable Topaz (Marquise), but you'll spend lots of ammunition killing these guys, so don't attempt this during your first playthrough).